Jagan asks for CBI inquiry into paternal uncle's death

YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy demanded a CBI investigation into the death of his paternal uncle and former MP Y S Vivekananda Reddy's death early on Friday morning.

Family members initially thought he died of cardiac arrest but later expressed doubts that it was an unnatural death. Vivekananda was 68 and is survived by his wife and daughter.

The Pulivendula police in Kadapa district registered a case of death under suspicious conditions. Vivekananda was lying lifeless in his bathroom in a pool of blood. There were deep gashes on several parts of his upper body.

"There is a pattern in these murders. First, my grandfather Raja Reddy was murdered, then my father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a mysterious chopper crash. Recently, I was attacked at the Vizag airport," Jagan said in Pulivendula.

He alleged that his uncle was hacked to death and that the scene of the crime was tampered with to make it look like a natural death.

He said he had no trust in the Special Investigation Team formed by the state government and demanded a CBI investigation.

Vivekananda was at an election campaign till late on Thursday evening. He came home around 11 pm and went to bed. The other family members were not at home. His assistant Krishna Reddy noticed him lying dead in the bathroom when he came to wake him up. It was Krishna who lodged a complaint with the local police.

Vivekananda has served twice as MLA from the Pulivendula constituency and twice as MP from the Kadupa constituency. He is the younger brother of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Vivekananda was known for being very accessible for the people from his constituency

Jagan was originally scheduled to release the candidates' list and launch the party campaign from his native village of Idupulapaya in the Pulivendula Assembly constituency on March 16.

Meanwhile, Kadapa district Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma announced forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of Y S Vivekananda Reddy under suspicious circumstances.